These teachings relate generally to physiological parameter monitoring, and, more particularly, to physiological parameter monitoring with a mobile communication device.
There is a need for low-cost physiological monitoring solutions that are easy to use, accurate, and can be used in the home or in ambulatory situations. Smart phones are becoming more popular, more powerful and have a variety of sensors available to capture information from the outside world, process in real-time, and transfer information remotely using wireless communications. This makes them an ideal option as a ‘take-anywhere’ physiological monitor without the need for additional hardware, and their potential has been explored for many medical telemonitoring applications.
Optical video monitoring of the skin with a digital camera contains information related to the subtle color changes caused by the cardiac signal and can be seen to contain a pulsatile signal. Given illumination of the area with a white LED mobile phone flash, this type of imaging can be described as reflection photoplethysmographic (PPG) imaging. The dynamics of the HR signal that can be captured by PPG contain information that can be used to detect other physiological conditions.
Motion artifacts can affect the results of standard PPG. In the case of a mobile device and where there is no physical device ensuring a stable connection as is the case with pulse-oximeter clips or EKG electrodes, motion artifacts can be of more concern. There is a need for systems and methods for physiological monitoring with a mobile communication device that allow detection of motion artifacts.